The Morning Briefing: So Many Gun Violence Solutions, So Much Stupidity

Good Tuesday Morning.

Here’s is what’s on the president agenda today:

The president has no public events scheduled today.

Readers, this is my last day at PJ Media and my last Morning Briefing. Thank you all so much for your loyal attention over the years, I have enjoyed reading your comments (yes, I read them, even the trolls) to my morning brain dumps and obsessive news monitoring. You can find me on Twitter,American Greatness, and behind the scenes at other places you probably read where I pull puppet strings and reign as a benevolent dictatrix.

Mr. Stephen Kruiser, infinitely more popular and talented than your humble Liz, will be taking the helm starting tomorrow, so you Brief-heads will still be able to get your morning dose of news and opinion. Farewell, my friends, and always remember to beat back the angry mob!

Weekend of Massacres: let’s review all the gun violence solutions

Were you ready for the massacre aftermath and analysis coming from the media/Democrats/”conservatives” funded by the left? A cornucopia of think-pieces, editorializing-masquerading-as-news, finger-wagging and general peacock-strutting for a runway of virtue on social media and cable “news.”

We have solutions! Sadly, all these solutions, that “do something,” all involve infringement on your rights and have nothing to effectively address gun violence. First up, let’s ban assault weapons. Do you know what happened during the 10-year life of the Clinton assault weapons ban? Columbine. Did we stop/reduce gun violence? Nope. Also complicating this plan is that there is no such thing as an “assault weapon.” What exactly makes something an “assault weapon” as opposed to a non-assault rifle? (a barrel shroud?!?) Can anyone tell me what special features make an “assault weapon” more deadly than a garden variety rifle? I can’t find an answer to that from the zealous crowd that wants to stop you from owning them.

Another “solution” being tossed around is the familiar ban of the high-capacity magazine. The main problem with all this talk about reforming gun policy is that most of the people pontificating about it do not know anything about firearms. They don’t own them and they’ve never used them. Gun grabbers are just parroting things that are accepted as gun control wisdom from their well-funded leftist overlords. How long does it take to switch out your mag? Like two seconds? If you are in a room or a store or a bar or a restaurant with unarmed people, the necessity of dropping your mag and slipping in another is not a deterrent. And, of course, your potential victims would be disarmed because homicidal maniacs choose gun-free zones to make their stands. It’s an inconvenience. Besides, who follows the gun laws? Not the criminals!

Not out of character for the left and one of their favorite tools to use in service of their tyranny: deplatforming. Time to shut down some websites in the name of public safety. 8chan is already a victim of this plan and others will soon follow. What constitutes dangerous speech? No worries, we can let the left decide what that is, but we should be confident in their abilities — they have been well-displayed through their governance of YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. You had better keep your thoughts and words in check or else you will be punished by the good Samaritans who want to stop gun violence. It’s for a good cause.

We mustn’t forget the ubiquitous “universal background check” solution. This worn-out mantra involves closing the pretend “gun show loophole” but really is about banning the private sales of firearms. Many states have already done this. But does it work? The two maniacs who slaughtered people last weekend had no problem buying their guns after a background check. Nor did the Gilroy shooter, so it’s not clear how this measure would have stopped anything. How can you stop someone before they commit a crime? Constitutionally you can’t, but what’s a little Constitution to get in the way of stopping gun violence, right? Right??

Are you fan of due process? Too bad. The Red Flag Law solution will give some kind of power to the government to take your firearms based on….I guess whatever they decide makes you dangerous. A confidence-inspiring gesture indeed, especially because we’ve seen how well our political adversaries tolerate dissent from their orthodoxy. Can you imagine all the punitive reporting the to Ministry of Red Flags controlled by the Comey FBI? Turn over your guns or else, I mean, what, are you in favor of gun violence or something? What do you do if someone hasn’t purchased firearms yet? Is there a process to decide whether you should have your guns removed or do the jackboots pull a Manafort and just kick in your door and take them? Sounds terrific.